Obituaries from The Republican.

Charles Chamberlain

Charles "Carl" Chamberlain, 89, of East Lansing, Mich., passed away on May 11. He was born in Biloxi, Miss. He was a World War II veteran and served in the U.S. Army/Air Force in the South Pacific. After the war, Chamberlain lived in St. Louis and Rochester, N.Y., and finally settled in Springfield, Mass., where he raised his family. He worked at Michelin Tire, General Tire, did a lot of work with youth over the years and was a tireless advocate of women's and children's services. For a time he worked for the City of Springfield as a social worker for Family Services. He was an avid golfer and loved to play scratch golf.

Obituaries from The Republican:

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  Barr, Warren
  



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  Bynum, Kenny
  



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  Chamberlain, Charles "Carl"
  



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  Cormier, Neil C.
  



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  Fesko, Audrey J. (Baker)
  



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  Haupt, Richard G.
  



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  Higgins, William E.
  



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  Matuszczak, Paul
  



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  Poirier, Leonard H.
  



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  Stebbins, Charles
  



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  Thumm, Garold Wesley
  



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  Woodfine, Pamela Rose
  

Currently, there are four crews working at four bridge locations. Total of about 32 employees.

The Republican / Dave Roback05/17/12-West Springfield-S The railroad bridge on Route 20 in West Springfield. This is the view off Charles Avenue.

WEST SPRINGFIELD This construction on Route 20 in West Springfield is a $5 million project and part of an $18 million project to raise six bridges in West Springfield, Richmond Hinsdale and Chester to allow CSX to run double-stacked freight trains on its line from Boston to Albany, N.Y.

Here in West Springfield, traffic will shift traffic from four lanes, two in each direction, to two lanes one in each direction beginning Monday, May 21, said Michael Verseckes, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The two-lane disruption is expected to be in place until late in 2013. the bridge will be done in 2014.

The Republican / Dave Roback05/17/12-West Springfield-Staff Photo by Dave Roback- The railroad bridge on Route 20 in West Springfield for under construction. This is the view off Charles Ave.

Smith graduates get life lessons from actress Jane Lynch. Watch video

NORTHAMPTON – Award-winning actress and comedian Jane Lynch told graduates life is just a big extended improvisation and they should stop planning and roll with the changes that come in life.

More than 700 graduate and undergraduate students received diplomas Sunday during Smith College’s 134th Commencement ceremony.

Graduate Lilly Dalton, of Huntington, said she enjoyed the relationships she made at the school and the high level of academics.

“I hope I made friendships and memories that will last,” said Dalton, who studied geosciences and has been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“I’m deferring my entrance for a year just to take a break and then I’m going to be studying paleontology,” she said.

Among the graduates was also Gov. Deval L. Patrick’s daughter Katherine W. Patrick, who received a degree in psychology. The governor and his family attended the graduation.

Besides a short speech by Class President Caitlyn Kirby Lynch was the only speaker at the graduation and had students laughing and cheering with her humorous account of aging, finding love and establishing a successful career which includes Emmy and Golden Globe awards for her performance as Sue Sylvester on the Fox television series “Glee.”

Lynch referred to Smith students as “fiercely independent, wicked smart, trailblazing, uber confident and shockingly entitled.”

“I know this because I live with one of you,” she said referring to her wife and Smith graduate Lara Embry. The couple were married in Sunderland in 2010.

Lynch told students to protect women's rights.

“Remember that Smith woman entitlement I spoke of earlier? I’m counting on yours to ferociously guard the women’s health care rights our sisters won for us years ago,” she said.

Lynch also told students to let life surprise them.

“ My counsel to you is this. Don’t have a plan. Plans are for wusses. You are obviously good planners or you wouldn’t be here. Stop it now! Don’t deprive yourself of the exciting journey your life can be when you relinquish the need to have goals and a blueprint,” she said.

She also thanked the college for the honorary degree in fine arts which they gave her during the ceremony.

“Today I become a Smithie. That same piece of paper that my wife and all of you toiled for years to get, I now get for a handshake,” she said. “I am so proud to be one of you.”

Frank Colaccino, chairman of AIC's Board of Trustees, and U.S. ambassador to Estonia Michael Polt addressed the more than 1,200 graduates during Sunday's commencement at the MassMutual Center.

Photo courtesy of AICFrank Colaccino, former Dairy Mart CEO and current chairman of AIC's Board of Trustees.

SPRINGFIELD - The more than 1,200 recipients of undergraduate and graduate degrees from American International College on Sunday heard from two distinguished alumni, who, like some of them, came to the college from abroad.

"Many of you were not born in this country," said Frank Colaccino, chairman of AIC's Board of Trustees, who was born in Pianopoli, Italy and journeyed eight days on a ship to the U.S. with his family when he was just 6.

"Enjoy the day," he advised the graduates. "It's going to go by in a flash."

Colaccino attended public schools in Springfield and said he had to work two part-time jobs, including pumping gas, even after taking out student loans, to pay the tuition at AIC.

He graduated from the college in 1973, when a gas crisis was contributing to a worsening economy.

"I was loaded up with debt and the prospective of employment was bleak," Colaccino said.

But "as scary as the world is, it's full of opportunities," he said. "Don't be afraid to fail."

There's a lot of doors to be opened, he said, adding that AIC has provided "the keys to open those doors."

Colaccino obtained his real estate broker's license shortly after graduation and went on to manage land purchases for Dairy Mart Convenience Stores. He rose through the company's ranks, becoming the vice president after two years and expanding the business beyond Massachusetts. He would eventually be appointed president and chief executive.

Photo courtesy of AICU.S. ambassador to Estonia Michael Polt.

He's also credited with helping AIC in its quest back to financial solvency, when he served as chairman of the board's finance committee.

He's the first alumnus in the college's history to serve as chairman of the Board of Trustees.

The board's vice chairman, Peter Bittel, presented Colaccino with an honorary doctorate in commercial science.

Bittel told the graduates that like some of them Colaccino was the first in his family to earn a college degree. "I'm humbled and extremely proud to have graduated from AIC," Colaccino said.

Another AIC alumnus, longtime diplomat and current U.S. ambassador to Estonia Michael Polt, addressed the Class of 2012 and was also presented with an honorary doctorate, his in public administration.

Richard Bedard, AIC's executive vice president of administration and the college's athletic director, presented Polt with his degree, and said his three decades in the foreign service "has brought you significant recognition."

Polt was born in Austria and became a U.S. citizen at 14. He earned a bachelor's degree in English from AIC in 1975 and later a master's in public administration from the University of Tennessee.

He spoke about America's role in the world and said he hopes this graduating class will be engaged in the world and further America's founding principles.

Of the 1,278 who graduated Sunday, 333 received their undergraduate degree, while 845 received an advanced degree, according to Craig Greenberg, AIC's director of public relations.

The commencement was held at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

Under the 12-year-old Community Preservation Act, cities and towns receive a state match from real estate fees if local voters have adopted a property tax surcharge to generate local money.

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Senate this week will take up a plan to raise state matching money for a popular law that allows communities to purchase open space, restore historic properties and create affordable housing.

Under the Community Preservation Act, cities and towns receive a state match from a pot of money raised from real estate fees if municipal voters have adopted a property tax surcharge of up to 3 percent to generate local money. State matching money has been down in the past four years because of a slump in real estate transactions and more participation in the law, stretching out the funds.

Nearly 150 communities have approved the program including, about 30 in Western Massachusetts, according to the web site of the Community Preservation Coalition. The money goes for projects such as buying conservation land, upgrading important historic sites and elderly housing and building new playgrounds.

Sen. Stephen Brewer

As part of its debate on the $32.3 billion state budget for the next fiscal year, the Senate is set to act on a proposed amendment by Sen. Cynthia S. Creem, D-Newton, to take $25 million from any net state budget surplus for next year and apply it to state funds for the community preservation act. The state House of Representatives in April unanimously approved the plan as part of its version of the fiscal 2013 state budget.

The $25 million was left out of the preliminary budget unveiled last week by the Senate Ways and Means Committee, though other long-sought changes to the preservation act were included. The full Senate, starting Wednesday, will debate proposed amendments to the committee's budget.

After the Senate finishes its budget this week, legislative conferees will combine the House and Senate budget versions and send a compromise to Gov. Deval L. Patrick, likely in time for the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, the chairman of Senate Ways and Means, said the budget is a difficult fiscal challenge and he can't predict the fate of the money proposed for the preservation law.

Sen. Stanley Rosenberg

Sen. Karen Spilka

"We'll have to see where the spending goes," Brewer said. "This is a budget that can't be all things to all people all the time."

Here are a couple of other important budget amendments among the 694 filed by senators:

• Sen. Karen E. Spilka, D-Ashland, is asking for $28 million to provide a small salary increase for direct care workers employed by private, nonprofit human service agencies that contract with the state. The money would go to 31,500 employees in the state who make $40,000 a year and less.

• Sen. James T. Welch, D-West Springfield, is seeking $11.3 million for busing transient homeless students within and between school districts. Some of the state's highest yearly costs for busing homeless students are in Western Massachusetts, including $563,000 in Springfield; $431,000 in Chicopee ; and $311,000 in Holyoke – where about 10 percent of the student population is homeless.

Advocates of the community preservation act are hopeful the final compromise state budget will include the $25 million.

"It's been a very successful program," said Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, who said he will support the amendment for the $25 million. "I would like to see it grow."

Rep. Stephen Kulik

The preservation law is set for some other key changes.

According to Rep. Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington, the House of Representatives approved a budget measure to allow communities for the first time to exempt the first $100,000 of property value of commercial and industrial properties from the surcharge. The exemption already exists for residential property.

The House also approved budget language to allow communities to use preservation money for rehabilitating existing recreational facilities, fields and parks, Kulik said. Right now, the money can only be for renovating recreational fields and other assets purchased or created with preservation funds, he said.

Those changes were also approved in the Senate Ways and Means budget and could be effective at attracting more cities into the program, Kulik said.

In Western Massachusetts, Agawam, Amherst, Belchertown, Conway, Easthampton, East Longmeadow, Granville, Hadley, Hampden, Hatfield, Longmeadow, Monson, Northampton, Shutesbury, Southwick, Sturbridge, Sunderland, West Springfield, Westfield and Wilbraham are among communities that have approved the program.

According to the Community Preservation Coalition, more than 5,000 projects have been approved statewide under the program, including creation or support for 5,080 affordable housing units, protection for 14,900 acres of open space, 2,480 appropriations for historic preservation and initiation of 729 outdoor recreation projects.

Republican file photoBoston Statehouse

Detonated grenade found near Monson restaurant.

File photo

MONSON- Fire Chief George Robichaud said what could have been a very dangerous situation was handled quickly and safely when a grenade was found near the Mug n' Muffin Restaurant Sunday morning.

Robichaud said some lawn maintenance employees were working at the BP service station on Route 32 around 10 a.m. when somebody spotted a grenade.

"The bomb squad was called and the Monson Fire Department closed Route 32 for a little over an hour to deal with the situation," he said.

Robichaud said it was determined the grenade was a training grenade that had already been detonated.

As a safety precaution several homes as well as the restaurant on Palmer Road were evacuated while the incident was addressed.

"Fortunately the appropriate actions were taken and no one was harmed," he said.

Robichaud said it is unclear how the grenade got to the populated area.

Police are investigating the accident. No charges have been filed.

The Republican | Greg Saulmon05.19.2012 | NORTHAMPTON -- A bicyclist suffered serious injuries Saturday evening after colliding with a car at the intersection of Main and Pleasant streets.

NORTHAMPTON – A man who was hit by a car while riding his bicycle downtown Saturday is in critical condition and suffering from life-threatening injuries.

The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office Sunday said the victim, Harry Delmolino, 18, of Hadley, was hit by a car at about 7:45 p.m. at the intersection of Pleasant and Main streets.

He is being treated in Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. A hospital spokesman said he is listed in critical condition.

Officials for the district attorney said Delmolino was traveling east through the intersection on Main Street when Celso Avelar, 43, of Northampton began turning left onto Pleasant Street from Main Street when the bicycle and the car collided.

No charges have been filed. The collision remains under investigation by Northampton Police and Massachusetts State police from the collision analysis and reconstruction section and detectives with the District Attorney’s office.

State police were planning to interview Delmolino Sunday. Northampton police also took statements from multiple witnesses to the accident, officials said.

Amherst held their 191st commencement ceremony Sunday.

AMHERST - A whimsical student address, forgetting the national anthem – then remembering it after the commencement began -- and a stellar list of honorary degrees recipients were part of Amherst College’s 191st graduation ceremony Sunday.

San Francisco native Elias R. Johansson-Miller, summa com laude with a bachelor of arts double major in English, and Theater and Dance was selected by his peers to speak for the senior class. His thesis is “Creating and Believing in Going Public.”

Though he had some serious things to say at the tail end of his speech, Johansson-Miller spent most of it making jokes, talking about a time machine and sharing a tongue-in-cheek vision of a wedding between newly-installed college president Carolyn “Biddy” Martin and her predecessor, Anthony W. Marx.

At one point the graduating senior chose bawdy humor: “I learned to make realistic goals…by deciding to pee on every college building before I graduate.”

Johansson-Miller also recited a snippet from Michael Cunningham’s award winning novel, The Hour: “There's just this for consolation: an hour here or there when our lives seem, against all odds and expectations, to burst open and give us everything we've ever imagined, though everyone but children (and perhaps even they) know these hours will inevitably be followed by others, far darker and more difficult.”

Fourteen members of Shanika Audige’s family attended the graduation ceremony. She earned cum laude in her double major, Black Studies and Sociology. Her thesis is “(In)visible Blackness: Examining the Effects of Skin Tone on Social Integration and Self Perception Among Dark-Skinned Black Women at Amherst College.” She is from Newark, NJ.

Family members said her accomplishment is an inspiration and that Shanika always possessed an uncanny intelligence.

Her father, Mario Audige, while taking photos, explained how the umbilical cord was wrapped around his daughter’s neck while she was in her mother’s womb. At birth, medical staff saw Shanika’s tiny fingers in between her neck and the umbilical cord; her action apparently allowed her to prevent suffocation, Mario said.

“The nurse said ‘that’s unbelievable,’” her father said.

Although the Star Spangled Banner was scheduled to begin the ceremony following the processional played by the Commencement Band, the National Anthem was not sung until after the awarding of senior academic prizes to Rachel K. Brickman, Michelle Johnstone and Benjamin T. Miller.

President Martin gave the commencement address, telling graduates their “challenge is to embrace reality” while avoiding narcissism. She also expressed skepticism about online learning regimens, saying “there is no replacement for active learning.”

Martin said failure and disappointment can be applied to improving oneself.

“Learn from uncertainty, bad luck, rejection from one’s own kin and failure,” she said.

Receiving honorary degrees were Christiane Amanpour, Sheila C. Blair, Martin Duberman, Ulric St. Clair Haynes, Jr., David K. Lewis, John McPhee, and Marx.

The suspect said he had injured his wrist while beating another man with a handgun.

File photo | The Republican

HOLYOKE – A 20-year-old, who is facing assault and firearms charges, broke his wrist while allegedly beating another man.

Edargo Vazquez, of Holyoke, was arrested on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm and ammunition without a license, possessing a loaded firearm and other gun charges, Police Lt. Larry Cournoyer said.

Police responding to a call of a shooting at about 12:20 a.m. Sunday found a 21-year-old man at Dwight Street who has been badly beaten. The victim said he had been hit repeatedly with a pistol, but was not shot, Cournoyer said.

Later that night Patrolman Walber Borrego spotted Vazquez walking near 650 Dwight St. He was ordered to the ground, handcuffed and a handgun was found in his waistband.

After he was brought to the police station, Vazquez complained he had hurt his hand while hitting the suspect. Police saw his hand was swollen and had him brought to Holyoke Medical Center where he was treated for a broken wrist, Cournoyer said.

Mount Holyoke College awarded 577 bachelor of arts degrees and one master of arts degree.

Photo by Manon MirabelliA total of 578 degrees were awarded at the Mount Holyoke College graduation Sunday.

SOUTH HADLEY – Four dynamic speakers imparted life lessons that asked the nearly 600 Mount Holyoke College graduating women to draw upon their scholarly achievements to make the world a better place for themselves and future generations.

From alumna Mallika Dutt and best-selling author Azar Nafisi to civil rights figure Bernard LaFayette and renowned astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, the speeches incorporated wit, wisdom, humor, confidence, humility and observations on what it means to be a woman with a Mount Holyoke education. All four speakers were awarded honorary doctorate degrees.

“You realize now that I’m part of your class,” LaFayette asked. “Don’t forget me when you have the reunion.”

After noting the scientific fact that women possess a greater number of brain nodules than men, LaFayette added that “the only men who have as many brain nodules as women are jazz musicians” because of the complexity of the music.

“How many men do you know can carry on five conversations at the same time,” he asked rhetorically.LaFayette, a 1960s freedom rider and co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, also said that one of the most important and defining circumstances in the graduates’ lives is something beyond their control.

“The most important thing that happens to you in life is who your mother is – who claims you as a daughter.”

In the most humorous commencement address of the ceremony, Tyson, who was voted “People” magazine’s sexiest astrophysicist in 2000 and known for pointing out to Jon Stewart when he was a guest on “The Daily Show” that the world in the program’s opening sequence is spinning in the wrong direction, asked the Mount Holyoke graduates to help him “fix the world.”

“The world is getting stupider,” he asserted. “Why do we drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? I want to make the world smart again.”

As far as the distinction of being named sexiest astrophysicist, Tyson, who is also director of New York City’s Hayden Planetarium, said he cannot imagine that field is very crowded and takes that title with a grain of salt.

“I don’t know how many of us there are,” he quipped. “I don’t know who No. 2 is.”

The senior address was delivered to her peers by Tamar Spitz Westphal, of Evanston, Ill., who described Mount Holyoke College as a place where “we have learned to be critical thinkers, innovative researchers and compassionate, determined individuals.”

“So what is it that’s in the water here,” Westphal asked. “There is passion here. There is solidarity. There is a drive to change the world. There is also humor.”

With his own humor, LaFayette gave his observation of what is in the water on the campus of Mount Holyoke College.

“Bread is in the water, and it will come back to you with peanut butter and jelly.”

College officials conferred 577 Bachelor of Arts degrees during the college’s 175th commencement ceremony on Sunday, including 37 that were awarded to Frances Perkins Scholars. One additional student received a Master of Arts degree and another 25 received international student certificates.

Firefighters saved three kittens trapped in the second-floor apartment.

Republican staff photo by Michael BeswickA Holyoke EMT inspects a small kitten rescued by a Holyoke firefighter at a blaze they battled at 29 Cabot St. Sunday night.

HOLYOKE – A fire in a large apartment block destroyed one unit and damaged 12 others, leaving 13 families homeless Sunday.

At least 30 residents who live at 27 and 29 Cabot St. were able to escape safely. Firefighters rescued three kittens from the second-floor apartment where the fire started, Fire department spokesman Lt. Thomas G. Paquin said.

The blaze was first reported at about 8:30 p.m. at 29 Cabot St. It originated in the right side apartment on the second floor and destroyed that apartment, he said.

“When we arrived flames were coming out of all of the windows and it was spreading to the hallway,” Paquin said.

Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading beyond the second-floor unit, but the other 11 apartments had smoke and water damage. There was also some fire damage in the hallway, Paquin said.

There was also water and smoke damage to one apartment at neighboring 27 Cabot St.

The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross was called to assist the families. Officials for Atlas Realty, which owns 29 Cabot St, also responded to help tenants and secure the building, he said.

Exirenid Caraballo, who lives in the apartment with her husband and two children ages 2 and 4, said she had just cooked chicken for her sons, who were visiting friends nearby. She left the house with the food and a few minutes later she was told her apartment was on fire.

“I turned off the stove but the pan was still hot,” she said.

Her family had four adult cats and four kittens. Firefighters rescued three of the kittens. They rinsed them off under a trickle of water from the fire hydrant and emergency medical technicians gave them oxygen. The Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Shelter were called to care for them.

The fire was investigated by city firefighters and the state Fire Marshall’s office, who determined it was the result of a cooking accident, Paquin said.

Yanitza Ramos, who lives in the first-floor apartment with her husband and their four-year-old said the alarms started going off and her husband and a friend who was visiting went upstairs to see what happened.

While fire damage to her apartment was limited, she expected water and smoke would damage most of their belongings.

Her friend, Jesus Burgos, of Holyoke, said he went to the second floor and opened the door to try to find out if there was something he could do but the flames were too big. He called the fire department and tried to tell other tenants.

“I just tried to get out,” he said. “I saw people and I said there is a fire, lets go outside,” he said.

The Obama campaign continues to criticize Romney's record at Bain Capital.

AP PhotosThe Obama campaign is attacking Mitt Romney's business experience in a new video.

President Barack Obama’s campaign on Monday will launch a new attack against Republican presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s business record, focusing on his company’s role in the bankruptcy of the paper company Ampad.

Last week, the Obama campaign went after Romney for the involvement of his private equity investment company, Bain Capital, with a shuttered steel mill in Kansas City.

The latest Obama web video, which can be seen here, focuses on Bain Capital’s role in the American Pad and Paper company.

According to the Boston Globe, Bain Capital bought Ampad in 1992, putting down $5 million in cash, and borrowing the rest of the purchase price. Bain Capital then used Ampad to buy up several other office supply companies. In one instance, Ampad bought an Indiana-based paper products plant from SCM Office Supplies and fired the workers, though some were rehired. Between 1993 and 1999, Ampad’s debt increased from $11 million to $400 million. Ampad went bankrupt in 2000.

Between management fees and sale of stock, Bain Capital earned $100 million from Ampad.

According to “The Real Romney” by Globe reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, Democratic Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy used the story of Ampad to attack Romney when the two were competing in the 1994 U.S. Senate race. Kennedy at the time filmed the angry Ampad workers.

The Obama campaign is using the same tactic now. The new video features workers from Marion, Ind. – home of the former SCM Office Supply plant – speaking about the experience of losing their jobs after Ampad took over and faulting Romney.

Romney’s role, however, is somewhat more complex than the Obama video shows. USA Today reported that Romney was on leave from Bain when it purchased SCM Office Supply – and was not involved in managing Ampad. Romney left Bain Capital in 1999, right before Ampad’s bankruptcy. (Ampad emerged from bankruptcy in 2003 under new ownership.)

Romney has made his business experience a cornerstone of his campaign. The Obama campaign already attacked Romney on Ampad in January. Romney’s Republican rivals – particularly former House Speaker Newt Gingrich – also criticized Romney’s record at Bain Capital during the primary campaign.

Romney has responded to the attacks by saying that some of his ventures were successful and others were not. He has said those who attack him are attacking “free enterprise.”

Last week, the Romney campaign released a video showcasing a company called Steel Dynamics, one of Bain’s successful investments. Workers at Steel Dynamics spoke about the work Bain Capital did building up that company from scratch.

Randy Johnson, a union worker at Ampad, spoke to reporters about Romney during the primary campaign. Johnson will be speaking to reporters again Monday on a conference call organized by the Obama campaign.

According to a release announcing the call, the Obama campaign will argue that “Romney’s business values put short term profit for himself and his investors ahead of long term growth for the companies he bought and sold – destroying some of the communities where he and his partners invested.”

Massachusetts Republicans Mitt Romney and Scott Brown have a history of supporting each other throughout their political careers.

The Associated PressIn this Feb. 18, 2010, file photo former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, is announced by Sen. Scott Brown, R, Mass., as he arrives on stage to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. The two Massachusetts Republicans have a history of supporting each other throughout their political careers, but facing tough elections neither is the presidential candidate nor the U.S. senator is playing up that history now, perhaps with good reason. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Republicans Mitt Romney and Scott Brown have a history of supporting each other throughout their political careers.

But with each facing a tough election, neither the presidential candidate nor the U.S. senator is playing up that history, perhaps with good reason.

Brown, trying to win re-election in one of the most Democratic states, spends much of his time promoting his bipartisan bona fides and describing himself as a "Scott Brown Republican" rather than a conservative or liberal Republican.

He may be one of the few Republicans running who boasts of working with President Barack Obama to pass bills. On his campaign website, Brown has posted pictures and videos of him with the Democratic incumbent.

Romney has moved increasingly to the right, shedding some of the more moderate positions he held as Massachusetts governor as he worked to rally GOP activists during the primaries.

Brown took a more moderate stance, alienating some of the conservative and tea party activists who helped elect him in 2010. Those are the same people Romney will need if he hopes to win in November. Brown's shift to the middle could make him a liability for Romney among conservatives.

Brown probably will continue to play down his ties to his former governor and emphasize his own independent streak, particularly with recent polls showing Obama enjoying a double-digit over Romney in Massachusetts.

"Brown sees pretty clearly that there are no Romney coattails in Massachusetts for him to ride and, indeed, being close to Romney for his own re-election bid could be a liability," said Paul Watanabe, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts.

The distance between the candidates is more than strategic. Romney and Brown have adopted competing views on several big issues, from a new nuclear weapons treaty with Russia to the fate of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

Romney has said Roe v. Wade should be reversed. Brown says a woman should have the right to an abortion, although he opposes federal money for the procedure. Brown voted for the new START treaty with Russia, saying it was important for national security. Romney said the treaty was Obama's "worst foreign policy mistake."

The differences don't stop there.

Romney has called for repeal of the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law. Brown voted for it. Romney backs amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage. Brown opposes such an amendment and says gay marriage is "settled law" in Massachusetts. Such unions became legal in the state in 2003.

Romney, in 2007, said the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy seemed to be working. Brown voted with Democrats and some Republicans to end the policy that barred gays from serving openly in the military, earning praise from the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay GOP group.

While Romney hasn't said if he'll release more than two years of his income tax returns, Brown has made public six years of his tax documents.

When pressed on the differences of opinion, Brown's campaign repeats his endorsement of Romney.

"Sen. Brown thinks Mitt Romney is a good and decent person who is devoted to his family and strong on jobs and the economy and that's why he supports him for president," Brown spokesman Colin Reed said in a statement.

The campaigns also share staff, including Eric Fehrnstrom, a top political adviser to both men. Fehrnstrom did not respond to a request for comment.

Romney and Brown come from very different backgrounds. Brown's parents divorced early and his family moved often when he was young. Romney's father was a governor of Michigan and an automotive executive. Still, the two found political common ground nearly a decade ago.

Both are ambitious Republicans from a state known for frustrating GOP hopes.

When a seat opened up in the state Senate in 2004, Brown, then a state representative, jumped into the race. The seat had been held by a Democrat but, with a campaigning and fundraising assist from then-Gov. Romney, Brown squeaked out a narrow victory over his Democratic challenger, who at first doubted the results.

"It's a new day in Massachusetts politics when the Democrats are calling for a recount," said Romney, who appeared at a Statehouse news conference with Brown after the election.

When longtime Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy died of brain cancer in 2009, Romney supported Brown in the special election to fill the seat. Though Brown was considered a long shot, Romney issued campaign fundraising letters on his behalf.

"Scott's election would shock the country," Romney wrote. "Wouldn't it be nice to elect a fiscal conservative to Ted Kennedy's seat in the United States Senate?"

Romney had challenged Kennedy for the seat in 1994, and lost.

The mutual accolades reached a pinnacle at an annual meeting of conservative activists the month after Brown's election to the Senate.

Introducing Romney, Brown joked that at the start of his Senate campaign "I could have held my campaign rally in a phone booth" and Romney was "one of those guys who was in that phone booth with me."

Romney returned the compliment moments later.

"Scott Brown, boy, I'd take him anywhere I could take him," he told the crowd.

Except that neither has taken the other anywhere lately.

Democrats are busy trying to make voters aware of the ties between Romney and Brown, especially in Massachusetts, where Brown faces a tough fight against likely Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren.

Democrats note that Romney and Brown both supported an amendment in the Senate this year that would have allowed employers or health insurers to deny coverage for services they said violated their moral or religious beliefs, including birth control. The amendment failed.

"Scott Brown and Mitt Romney have made clear that they share a close personal relationship as Massachusetts Republicans," state Democratic Party spokesman Kevin Franck said in a statement. "They share the same policy agenda of protecting tax breaks for big oil and millionaires, while refusing to invest in helping the middle class."

An occupant of 57 Cobblestone Road was taken to Baystate Medical Center for treatment after being injured in the blaze, Longmeadow Fire Capt. John Dearborn said.

LONGMEADOW – One person was treated at Baystate Medical Center after being injured in a house fire reported at 3:58 a.m. Monday at 57 Cobblestone Road.

Longmeadow Fire Capt. John Dearborn said the occupant, whose name was not released, was transported to the Springfield hospital after sustaining serious injuries in the fire. Officials did not identify the nature or extent of the victim's injuries.

Dearborn said firefighters from Longmeadow, East Longmeadow and North Thompsonville, Conn., battled the blaze, which was contained to the second floor of the 2-story home.

The state fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire, Dearborn said.

MAP showing the location of a house fire at 57 Cobblestone Road, Longmeadow:

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The 2012 college graduation season in Western Mass. featured several big-name speakers. A roundup of commencement coverage:

David Molnar / Springfield RepublicanActress and comedian Jane Lynch speaks to the graduating class at Smith College.

The 2012 college graduation season in Western Mass. featured several big-name speakers. A roundup of commencement coverage:

Jane Lynch at Smith College: "Plans are for wusses."

The "Glee" star, an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress and comedian, referred to Smith students as “fiercely independent, wicked smart, trailblazing, uber confident and shockingly entitled.”

“I know this because I live with one of you,” she said referring to her wife and Smith graduate Lara Embry. The couple were married in Sunderland in 2010.

Video highlights>> | Photo gallery: Smith's 134th commencement>>

Ted Koppel at UMass graduation: Seek more substance than what's in a tweet

“At this critical juncture in your lives, then, let me urge you — no, let me implore you — to want more,” he told the 5,000 graduates at the 142nd UMass commencement. Koppel, the keynote speaker, received an honorary doctorate, his 25th honorary degree.

Photos: UMass 2012 commencement >>

Eugene Mirman delivers laughs at Hampshire College

He told the Hampshire graduates that while he was honored to be their commencement speaker this year, he knew a lot of people were hoping it would be Chairman Mao, the Chinese Communist revolutionary. The jokes didn't stop there. Video of Mirman's speech >>

Four speakers address Mount Holyoke class, including "sexist astrophysicist" Neil deGrasse Tyson

After noting the scientific fact that women possess a greater number of brain nodules than men, civil rights figure Bernard LaFayette added that “the only men who have as many brain nodules as women are jazz musicians” because of the complexity of the music.

Westfield State University graduates get advice from 'Batman' executive producer Michael Uslan

“I learned from him that what you do in life is not about money. It’s about passion,” Uslan said. “I had to figure out what my bricks and stones were, and for me they were movies and comic books.”

Western New England University graduates first university class

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson - in his second local university appearance - told the audience to stop looking at life like a multiple choice question. "I'm worried about how much fuzzy thinking is going on in the world. People want choices and maybe it's hard to think originally," he said.

Photos: Western New England University commencement >>

Amherst College president Carolyn Martin to graduates: "Embrace reality and avoid narcissism"

“Learn from uncertainty, bad luck, rejection from one’s own kin and failure,” she said. International journalist Christiane Amanpour received an honorary degree.

Bay Path College graduates 691

NASA Astronaut Catherine Coleman told graduates of Bay Path College they are prepared for the next step in their lives – even if they are not sure what that will be.

Photos: Bay Path College 2012 commencement >> | Video: Catherine "Cady" Coleman addresses the graduates >>

Two alumni of American International College given honorary degrees at commencement

Entrepreneur Frank Colaccino, chairman of AIC's Board of Trustees, and longtime diplomat and current U.S. ambassador to Estonia Michael Polt addressed the graduates.

Photos: American International College's 2012 commencement >>

Springfield College graduates 976 with bachelor's degrees

Harvard football coach told graduates that just having a plan isn’t enough. "Write it down. Then put that plan somewhere where you will see it each and every day."

Photos: Springfield College commencement>> | Video: Springfield College graduation>>

Police say a Salem woman has been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for allegedly trying to infect her landlord with a skin disease.

SALEM, Mass. (AP) — Police say a Salem woman has been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for allegedly trying to infect her landlord with a skin disease.

Police tell The Salem News the woman argued with her landlord on Saturday morning after exterminators arrived to deal with her complaint of bugs and mice in her apartment, but refused to enter.

The woman, who admitted to having a "severe" case of scabies on her arms, complained that her landlord "was treating her like a leper," and wiped her arms on him.

Scabies is a skin disease caused by tiny mites. The itchy rash is spread by direct contact.

The woman will be summoned to court at a later date.

Names were not released.

Connecticut hopes to begin at least some service on the line by 2016.

AP Photo/California High Speed Rail AuthorityThis undated file photo provided by the California High Speed Rail Authority shows an artist's rendering of a high-speed train traveling along the California coast. California will need to build its high-speed train line in record time if it doesn't want to risk losing federal funds — it will have to be the fastest piece of transportation construction in U.S. history, experts said.

NEWINGTON, Conn. — Connecticut transportation officials have scheduled three public hearings on the plan to build a high-speed rail line linking New Haven, Hartford and Springfield, Mass.

The New Haven Register reports the June hearings in Enfield, New Britain and North Haven are part of the environmental assessment of the proposed 62-mile rail line.

The state Department of Transportation has prepared a report outlining the potential impact of the project on noise levels, air quality, water quality and cultural and recreational resources along the corridor.

A 45-day comment period began May 8.

The state hopes to begin at least some service on the line by 2016.

The collision occurred Saturday night at Main and Pleasant streets

The Republican | Greg Saulmon05.19.2012 | NORTHAMPTON -- A bicyclist suffered serious injuries Saturday evening after colliding with a car at the intersection of Main and Pleasant streets.

NORTHAMPTON – Harry Delmolino, an 18-year-old Hadley bicyclist who collided with a car at Pleasant and Main streets Saturday night, remained in critical condition Monday morning at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Delmolino was hit by a car at about 7:45 p.m., according to a release issued by the Northwestern District Attorney’s office. Witnesses said the accident may have occurred closer to 7:15 p.m.

Delmolino was traveling east through the intersection on Main Street when Celso Avelar, 43, of Northampton began turning left onto Pleasant Street from Main Street when the bicycle and the car collided.

The collision remains under investigation by Northampton Police and Massachusetts State police from the collision analysis and reconstruction section and detectives with the District Attorney’s office.

Investigators were not immediately available for comment Monday.

Edgardo Vazquez, 20, is accused of beating a man with a handgun on Dwight Street, police said.

Republican file photo

UPDATES a story first published at 6:08 p.m. Sunday, May 20.

HOLYOKE – A city man racked up eight charges in connection with a pistol-whipping incident on Dwight Street early Sunday morning, according to Holyoke police records.

Edgardo Vazquez, 20, of 1465 Dwight St. was charged with multiple felonies, including assault with a dangerous weapon; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; carrying a loaded gun; carrying a gun without a license; possession of a gun and ammunition without a firearm identification card; using a gun during commission of a felony; possessing a gun with a mutilated serial code during a felony; and possession of a Class B drug.

Vazquez is expected to be arraigned on the charges today in Holyoke District Court.

Police Lt. Laurence Cournoyer told The Republican that officers who responded to a 12:18 a.m. shooting report on Dwight Street were unable to find a gunshot victim. But they did locate a 21-year-old man who claimed to have been badly beaten by a man wielding a handgun, Cournoyer said. The victim told police the suspect, later identified as Vazquez, repeatedly struck him with a pistol.

Officers later arrested Vazquez after spotting him walking along the 600 block of Dwight Street with a gun tucked in his waistband, police said. Vazquez broke his wrist while beating the man with the gun, according to Cournoyer.

MAP showing the approximate section of Dwight Street where Edgardo Vazquez was taken into custody following an alleged gun assault:

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Search the 2011 payroll database of Westfield city employees and compare their salaries against those of city employees in Springfield and Chicopee.

File photo | The RepublicanWestfield City Hall

Westfield paid out more than $67 million to more than 1,900 individuals listed as having worked for the city during the 2011 calendar year, according to data MassLive.com requested from the city.

Readers can search the payroll information below or request your city or town's information by filling out a public records request to send to your local officials. Or drop us a note on which community you'd like to see here next in the comment section below.

Westfield payroll information by the numbers:

To find the highest paid city employees in Westfield, conduct a search, click "Gross Pay 2011" and "Gross Pay 2011" to flip the database so the greatest pay sums show up on top.

Readers are encouraged to leave comments and questions on this information below.